Pilot of small plane dies after crash near Missouri gas station

By

Daniel Uria

Police guard the remains of a Beechcraft plane that crashed into a gas station killing the pilot in Chesterfield, Missouri on Thursday. The crash occurred after the pilot, Jim Smith, a well known St. Louis builder, radioed Spirit of St. Louis Airport indicating he may not make it to the airport. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Police tape surrounds the remains of a Beechcraft plane that crashed into a gas station. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 6 (UPI) -- One person died after a small, single-engine plane crashed into the parking lot of a Missouri gas station on Wednesday.

The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene after his Beechcraft Bonanza B36 plane clipped the Canopy of a BP gas station in Chesterfield and crashed as it was flying to the Spirit of St. Louis Airport from Albuquerque, the FAA said.

The pilot was the only person on the plane and no one else was injured in the crash.

John Bales, director of the nearby Spirit of St. Louis Airport told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the pilot had been cleared to land, when he reported the plane was losing power and said he was unsure if he would make it to the airport.

Witnesses at the scene said they didn't hear any engine noise before the plane crashed.

"The plane was totally involved in fire when we arrived on the scene," Fire Marshal Roger Herin said. "We extinguished the flames pretty quickly."